


A Foregone Conclusion

by pikasafire



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Adoption, Fluff, Kid Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-16
Updated: 2013-04-16
Packaged: 2017-12-08 16:23:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/763483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pikasafire/pseuds/pikasafire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>“By all means. Adopt a baby with the guy you have a giant girl-crush on. That’s a fantastic idea.”</i>
</p><p> </p><p> The story where Danny and Claude do it all backwards.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Foregone Conclusion

**Author's Note:**

> **WARNINGS** : Unintentionally manipulative behaviour. Oh, and SAP. OH GOD, THE SAP. If you hate unrealistic romance and fluff and things that will actually make your teeth rot, don't read this story. This was written for a Harlequin challenge, so you should all know what to expect.
> 
> For masterpenguin82 because this was a prompt she gave me that was supposed to be a 500 word ficlet last November. I hate you, Rae. I received some absolutely mind blowing art for this which can be seen at the bottom of the fic - by needbackup. IT IS SUPER AWESOME. And can also be found [over here](http://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx305/pikasafire/hqbb_zps663dbc81.png)
> 
> After some research on German adoption law, I am very well aware that this is entirely legally unrealistic for about 234 reasons. I decided I don’t care. It’s Danny and Claude with a baby - let the cute overwhelm the lack of realism. Also, they live together in Germany here. Because of reasons. And I've fucked with the timeline. I'm not sorry. 
> 
> Enjoy it anyway!

*

“No.”

“Please?”

Claude sighs. “Are you serious?” he snaps, “We’re in fucking _Germany_ , in the middle of a lockout, and you want to _adopt a baby_. what’s _wrong_ with you?”

Danny at least has the grace to look a little awkward. “It’s not-”

“It _is_ like that.” Claude says, “You need to think about this a little more, man. Adopting a baby isn't like getting a puppy."

“I know that. I talked to Sylvie.” Danny says defensively, “She’s agreed to take the baby when she has the boys and we’ve got roadtrips. An extra kid when I already have the boys isn’t going to be that hard. And the boys like the idea of having a little sister. I've done this before, Claude.”

Claude stares at him like he’s grown an extra head. “I don’t even want to know what you promised her to get her to agree to that. Is she insane?” He waves Danny off before he can speak, “Why don’t you get Sylvie to co-sign the paperwork with you, then?”

“Sylvie’s not here,” Danny points out, like it’s obvious. “You are.” He colours a little, "And it has to be a partner." 

“Oh, that’s an excellent solution,” Claude says sarcastically. “Your ex-wife said she’d help you look after a new baby you’ve decided you want to adopt, and since she can’t sign, your teammate and best friend should totally agree to _adopt the baby with you_.”

Danny rolls his eyes, “In name only. It’s not like I’d expect you to be a dad or anything. I just need a second parent signature.”

“And me to lie about us being together.”

“Well.... yes.” Danny looks at him, an expression as close to begging as Claude’s ever seen from him. “Please, Claude. I swear, you won’t have to do anything else.” He glances away, not quite meeting his eyes, “I just- I always wanted more kids. This is my chance. But, I need your help.”

Claude sighs. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” he mutters, “Look. I’ll think about it. It’s not a yes,” he points out, when Danny’s face lights up. “But, I’ll think about it.”

*

“You’re kidding, right?” Brayden demands over Skype that night. “Like, you’re not actually thinking about this.”

Claude can’t help feeling a little defensive. “It’s only in name. It’s not like I’d _actually_ be adopting her.”

“Oh yeah, of course then. By all means. Adopt a baby with the guy you have a giant girl-crush on. That’s a fantastic idea.”

“It’s not that obvious.”

“Dude. Even Luke could tell. And he’s dumber than a fucking brick.” Brayden flinches, a fist appearing from the side of the screen to punch him in the arm. “Ow!” Brayden glares to the side, “It’s _true_. You had to ask what the fuck an urchin was.”

Claude can’t quite hear Luke’s response, rolls his eyes, "Schenner! Focus!"

Brayden isn't paying any attention, caught in a punching fight with Luke - all Claude can see is a bunch of flailing limbs. Claude sighs and disconnects the call. 

_//ur an idiot//_ Brayden texts fifteen minutes later, then _//cant believe u hung up on me u dickjerk//_

Claude ignores both.

*

"I don't know," Claude says over breakfast the next day. "I don't know, dude. Like, a baby? Seriously?”

“I swear this isn’t as crazy as it sounds.” Danny says. "I've actually thought about this."

Claude looks at him dubiously. “What are you going to do with her while we’re here in Germany?”

“What do you mean?” Danny asks with a frown, “Even rushed, the process will still take a month or so. It usually take years. We probably wouldn’t be able to take her before the lockout ends -- unless the season’s cancelled and if we’re in Germany all season, then I’ll hire someone for when we have games.”

“And if we go home? With a tightened schedule?”

“I’ll probably have to fly back over to pick her up.” Danny says. "Unless we're lucky." He sighs, “Look, it’s not going to be the easiest. I know that. But, what else do I do? Leave her there?”

Well. Yes. But even Claude’s not stupid enough to say that. “Someone else will adopt her, Danny. It’s Germany, not a third world country. It’s not like they’re lacking people who want to adopt.”

“Exactly.” Danny’s jaw tightens, “I know the timing isn’t perfect. But, if I don’t adopt her now, then I lose her, Claude. And I don’t want that to happen.”

Claude groans. “Are you serious? Why _this_ kid?”

“Come visit her,” Danny says, painfully earnest, hope shining in his face. “Please? You’ll understand, I promise.”

It’s really hard to say no to Danny when his face looks like that. “Fine.” Claude already knows he’s doomed.

 

*

The woman at the orphanage smiles when she sees Danny enter, cheerfully calling something in German that Claude can’t quite catch, but she doesn’t stop, just waves them through.

Danny calls something back in his terrible German, saying hello to a few older kids who are wandering about as he passes through the halls, pausing at a blue door. “Through here.” He knocks twice, opening it gently to a large sunny room full of toys.

"Mr. Briere!"

"Hi, Margot." He smiles as a tall, red-headed woman heads over, “I'm just here to visit Clara." Gesturing towards Claude, "This is Claude, my partner. Claude, this is Margot. She's in charge of the baby room here.”

Claude starts a little, eyes wide as he looks over at Danny. _Partner?_ “Nice to meet you,” Claude says to Margot, stumbling a little over his words.

“This is the first time you’re meeting Clara, yes?”

“Yeah. Um. Danny’s been very excited about her.”

Margot smiles at them indulgently, "I'll go see if she's awake."

“Partner?” Claude hisses, switching over to French as Margot leaves them alone. “You never said anything about us having to pretend to be dating.”

“Yes I did.” Danny whispers back, “I said you’d have to say we were together.”

“I thought you meant on _paper_.”

“Well they’re hardly going to let someone adopt a baby without their partner seeing the kid first.” Danny says, somewhat reasonably.

Oh God. Claude sometimes wonders how the fuck he manages to get himself into these situations. “Jesus. You owe me so big.” Claude mutters.

Danny just grins over at him. “Ich liebe dich,” he says, as deadpan as he can manage, an in-joke that Claude can’t help laughing at.

“You boys are very sweet,” Margot says, catching the last bit as she returns, “You’re in luck too, it seems. She’s must’ve just woken up.” She's holding a baby who’s fussing a little, noises that aren’t quite cries, and she passes her over to Danny.

Danny takes her with ease, “Hey,” he says to her gently, bouncing her a little to quiet her down, “Did you just wake up from your nap?” 

“She’s cute.” Claude says, feeling horribly awkward. He doesn’t know anything about kids. What else is he supposed to say? “Um, how old is she?”

“Nine months,” Danny says, looking up at Claude with a smile. “Did you want to hold her?”

“Um. She seems pretty comfortable on you.” He's held a baby precisely once in his life and the kid screamed the entire time. Kids are pretty cool; y'know, as soon as they can talk and use the bathroom on their own.

“You boys can go into the visitors room, if you’d like. Spend some time with her,” Margot says, “I’ve got some people coming in at three to see little Alexander.”

Danny smiles. “Thank you.” He nods his head to Claude, “This way.” Leading him to a small room to the side, filled with toys and bright decorations. Danny sits on the rug, settling Clara in his lap and handing her a colourful stuffed rabbit. “Here you go.” He looks up at Claude, “What do you think?”

Claude shrugs, sits down on the couch behind Danny. Carla looks over at him, staring in a way that makes Claude really uncomfortable. “Hey.” He says to her, awkwardly, searching for something else to say. “Um. How long has she been here?”

“Six months. They can’t find her parents and there’s a compulsory six month wait while they try and locate them.” Danny looks down at where Clara's chewing the ears of her bunny, “It’ll be up next week. Then we can file paperwork.”

Claude doesn’t say anything about the fact that Danny’s treating his acceptance like a given. “She was just left here?”

“One of the boxes, the, um, Babywiege?” He stumbles over the word, “They’re like safe deposit boxes for babies. Parents can put their baby in there if they can't care for them anymore, and it locks and sends an alarm to the hospital - it’s padded and heated, so the baby’s safe until someone can fetch it.”

Well, that sounds horrifying. “And people _use_ these?”

Danny shrugs, “Not everyone is as lucky as us. Some people can’t take care of them, for whatever reason. Better they’re put in the baby boxes than in a garbage bin or left on the streets to die, right?” He picks Clara up, putting her on the mat so he can sit on the couch next to Claude, knocking their shoulders together.

“I guess.”

Danny holds out a brick for Clara. She looks at it for a moment, considering it before reaching out to take it with clumsy hands, “Clara was put in when she was about three months old.”

“They don’t know how old she was?”

“They can guess, but without access to birth records, they don’t really know for sure.” He's distracted by Clara pulling herself upright on Danny's jeans. "Hi," Danny smiles as she hands him a toy car. "Is this for me? Thank you."

She looks at him judgmentally, dropping back to the floor and crawling over to fetch a brick before returning, taking the car back out of his hand and replacing it with the brick. "Ba!" She tells him.

"Yeah, it's a brick." Danny says solemnly, giving it back.

She tosses it on the floor and hands him a stuffed dinosaur. "Ba!"

"Yep, dinosaur. You're very clever."

"She didn't say dinosaur," Claude points out.

"She's a baby, Claude. And she doesn't even understand German, let alone English."

Clara holds her arms up to be held, little noises of distress until Danny picks her up, putting her up against his shoulder, and rubbing her back.

"She's drooling on your shirt." Claude says.

Danny rolls his eyes, "Probably. She might be teething, Margot was saying something about that on Wednesday." He holds her out for Claude to take, standing up. “I’ll see if Margot has any teething gel.”

“Um.” Claude says, holding Clara awkwardly at arms length. She looks at him, face crumpling. “Uh, Danny.”

She starts to cry, and Danny rolls his eyes. “Hold her properly.”

Claude scowls, tries to juggle her a little, “I- _How_.”

“You’ve never held a baby before?” Danny asks, surprised. Reaching out, he shifts Claude’s arms, until Claude’s cradling Clara against his body. “Better?”

She’s still crying, but it’s quieter now, head resting on Claude’s shoulder. “I think she’s chewing my shirt. Ew.”

“Yeah, she is.” Danny says, amused. “I’ll be back in a second. Just rub her back.” 

They spend a few hours with her, until she’s sleeping in Danny’s arms, both of them sitting on the couch, way too close. It reminds Claude a lot of being at Danny’s with the boys, the two of them on the couch, generally with Cameron leaning against them, the others on the floor or the armchairs, watching a movie or playing games.

It’s more comfortable than it should be; far more dangerous than Claude should be risking.

"Please?" Danny asks quietly, looking down at the baby in his arms, "I know I shouldn't be asking, but, I don't know what else to do."

And it’s not so much that Claude doesn’t want to; He wants it too much. And what the hell is Claude supposed to say to that, with Danny in front of him, holding this little girl. He knows he can say no. Except for the way he can't.

"Just in name, right?"

Danny's face lights up in a brilliant smile, "I swear. You won't have to do a thing."

*

"We'd like to fill in the paperwork." Danny says when Margot comes in to see how they're doing. Clara’s much happier after some teething gel, playing happily on the floor with her blocks.

Margot looks surprised, "Already? You don't want to spend more time with her first?"

Claude looks over at Danny, unsure what to say. Danny just smiles, "We're sure." He says, "We'll keep coming in of course, but we're sure. We'd like to start the process as soon as possible, just in case we get called back to America."

"I can give you the preliminary forms now." Margot says, pleased. "We're going to need a lot of paperwork from the two of you: ID, criminal history checks, inspection of your home, reports on your other children, evidence of your earnings and savings, employment details, character references-"

Claude pales. "Really?"

Danny nudges him, "She's a baby, Claude. They want to make sure we're going to look after her properly. We'll be fine."

"It's a long process," Margot says apologetically. "Even rushed through, it'll take a few months. Then you'll be allowed to take her on a trial basis, with regular check-ins to make sure she's bonding and you're coping. When do you plan on returning to America?"

"We don't know," Danny says, "It depends on when we're called back, it could be a week, it could be months." He looks at her anxiously, "Will that be a problem if we go back to America with her before the trial is up?"

"I'll have to get in contact with the agency in the US that we use, to make sure the check-ins are scheduled through them, but that shouldn't be a problem. She'll travel under a provisional visa, of course." Margot smiles at where Clara's hitting bricks together on the floor, shrieking happily. "I think you'll be fine. It seems like you're very attached already."

Danny smiles, puts a hand on Claude's knee. "It's hard not to be."

It’s part of the act, Claude knows it, but he can’t help placing his hand over Danny’s, squeezing it tight. “We’re very excited.” He says, smiles a little when Danny squeezes his hand back.

*

Claude's pretty sure that whole experience is possibly the most surreal of his life. Also, that the amount of paperwork to complete must have killed at least five trees. He’s never had to fill in so many forms before in his life, and the NHL is pretty enthusiastic about making them fill in paper after paper.

“Seriously?” Claude asks, when Danny puts another one in front of him. “Another?”

“I know,” Danny groans, “This one is an application for a criminal history check. You’ve never been arrested, right?”

“Not officially?” Claude says. Danny eyes him suspiciously. “What?” His eyes wide and innocent. “Some of us are interesting people.”

They write silently, the occasional hiss as they shake out cramping hands.

“Don’t we have to be married?” Claude says, frowning at the preliminary adoption form.

Danny waves a hand, “No, no. Because it’s not legal in Philly, it’s redundant. We’ve been together for more than three years - that counts.”

Claude raises an eyebrow, “Oh, have we now?”

Danny blushes, “Just fill in the paperwork,” he mutters, not quite meeting Claude’s eyes.

“I didn’t even get a ring,” Claude sighs, grinning as he copies down the details from Danny’s form on to his own.

“I promise to get you one later,” Danny says, “Keep writing.”

It takes them hours. Claude has to call his parents more than once to make sure he's getting some of the details right (why the fuck would he know where Isabelle was born? He wasn't even born yet.) and to get them to express post some documents. Claude's not entirely sure what to say when they ask him why, stammering over the words, "Oh, just filling in some hockey forms." and changes the topic.

He signs all fifteen million copies of the forms, hands shaking a little. He should think about this more, he knows. This isn't a contract extension or an endorsement deal; this is someone's whole life. He stares down at his own signature, feeling torn. Holy shit. What did he just do?

Danny looks just as terrified as he does, gathering the papers and putting them carefully in a drawer. "Now we just have to wait for the papers from home." He says, taking a deep breath.

"I need a drink." Claude says, pushing his chair out, feeling a whole lot like he's going to panic. "Want one?"

"Yeah." Danny says, running his fingers through his hair.

Claude's not expecting it when Danny grabs him, wrapping his arms tight around Claude, "Thank you," Danny murmurs against his neck. Claude hugs him back tightly, closes his eyes in an effort to memorise how this feels, tamps down on the desire to turn his head that little bit and kiss him.

"No problem," he murmurs back, voice not quite steady.

*

"You go to fucking Germany for a month and already, you've _adopted a baby_. What the fuck is in the water over there?" Brayden demands, scowling. A pause. "You're an idiot." Like Claude hadn't gotten that from the last five minutes of Brayden ranting.

"You didn’t see his face," Claude says defensively, "I couldn't say no. You wouldn't have been able to either."

"Nope," Brayden says, "I'm pretty sure I could. But, I don't want to play Daddy to Danny's fifteen monsters."

"Three. Well, four now."

Brayden sighs impatiently, "I know."

"You can't tell anyone." Claude says urgently. "Seriously."

"What?" Brayden raises his eyebrow incredulously, "You tell me something worthy of years of mocking, like the fact you've just _adopted a fucking baby_ with Danny, and then you tell me I can't tell the rest of the team and have all of us make fun of you until you die? Fuck off."

Claude should've known. "Please? If it gets out, it might fuck up the application."

Brayden groans, "Seriously? Ugh. Fine. But you're the worst friend ever. Give me other horribly embarrassing news instead then."

*

It's a month and a half of waiting. Danny goes to visit at least every second day, Claude tags along occasionally, and it bodes well for the adoption process that Clara's recognising them, grinning and holding her arms up for Danny when he comes in.

"Hey, princess." He smiles, picking her up for a cuddle. "How have you been today?"

She babbles something incomprehensible, waving the toy car in her hand dangerously close to Danny's face. Danny just laughs, takes the car gently out of her hand, "Car." He says, running it over Clara's arm, "Vroom, vroom." She giggles and it's sickeningly adorable. Claude can't help but grin, and he's pretty sure his crush on Danny is visible from space right now.

"Good news," Margot says coming back into the visiting room, "I wanted to wait until you boys came in to tell you in person." She pauses, waiting until she's certain they're both paying attention. "You've been approved," she tells them, delighted.

The smile on Danny's face is enormous and he reaches out, grabbing Claude's arm with his free hand and squeezing tight, "Seriously? Already?" 

"Now, it's only on a trial basis," she reminds them, "But, barring any serious issues, she's all yours. Congratulations." 

"Did you hear that," Danny says to Clara, bouncing her a little, presses a kiss to the side of her head, "You get to come home with me and Claude." He looks up at Margot. "When can we take her?"

Margot laughs, "Whenever you're ready." She says. "We'll give you a few days to make sure you have everything organised at home. Now, you've already had a house inspection from Lukas?" Both Danny and Claude nod. That had been one of the most awkward moments of Claude's life, having to move all of his stuff into Danny's room. Making the house look a little more like a couple lived there rather than housemates. "Then you should be okay," Margot says, "We'll visit the day after you take her home, and then at least once a week afterwards, to make sure she's settling okay. There are some more forms," Claude groans and Margot laughs, looking at him sympathetically, "I know." She says. "Just a few more. So, let's say we’ll drop her to you on Tuesday? That gives us time to finish off her check-ups and wrap up her file. We’ll call on Monday to confirm a time."

"Sounds fantastic." Danny says. Claude's pretty sure he's never seen Danny look happier. "Can we spend some time with her today?"

"Of course," Margot says, "You know where I am if you need me."

Danny's eyes are shining when he turns to Claude. "She's _ours_ ," he says, "Oh my God."

Claude reaches out, runs his hand over the soft tuft of hair on Clara's head. "Yeah." He says, throat feeling a little tight. He stands closer, other hand on Danny's shoulder, and for a moment, lets himself believe that they can be a family. 

*

“We need to go shopping,” Danny says, as they leave. “We need to get the house sorted.”

They drive around Berlin to stores like Toys”R”Us, Babywalz, and Baby Korb. Claude never knew babies needed so much _stuff_. There’s a carseat and a crib and highchair, then diapers, wipes, creams, bottles, baby-gates and socket covers as well as a million other things Claude didn’t know Clara would even _need_. The sheer amount makes his head spin.

“What about this one?” Danny asks, holding out a little knitted pink cardigan. “Or maybe a white one?” 

Claude’s already got a basketful of stuff and he looks at the cardigan, feeling dazed. “It’s cute.” he says eventually.

“You okay?” Danny asks, concerned.

“Yeah.” Claude gives Danny a small smile. “Just. This is a lot of stuff. How are we going to get it back home?”

“To the States?” Danny asks, frowns down at the jacket. “Huh. You might have a point. I guess we won’t? We’ll take the little things, sell the crib and car seat.” He looks over at the huge pile of stuff Claude already has, a little embarrassed smile. “We might have enough already.” 

They go through the checkouts, an absolute mountain of gear and Claude briefly wonders if they’re even going to be able to fit it all in the car. Danny doesn’t even wince at the price, but it’s enough that Claude’s eyes widen. Jesus, babies are _expensive_.

By the time they get home, Claude doesn’t think he has the energy to bring it all inside. “Nap first?” he whines, “Shopping is tiring. How do girls _do_ this all the time?”

Danny just laughs, reaches over to card his fingers through Claude’s hair in a way that’s really far too intimate. “Yeah,” he says, “Okay.” He grins, “After that, you can help me try and assemble the crib.”

*

It’s a kind of nervousness that Claude associates with games against the Pens, or the Playoffs or having to go in for surgery.

He guesses that waiting for a new baby is a valid reason to be nervous.

Danny’s practically vibrating at practice Tuesday morning, skating like crazy, a grin on his face so big that he looks more than a little demented. Claude’s just grateful to shake off some of the energy that’s thrumming through his veins. They still have a few hours to kill after practice, so they go out to lunch, both of them really too jittery to eat. It’s one of those interminable waits, and they end up at home, Danny double checking Clara’s new room, the baby gates, the basket of toys in the lounge-room. Claude grabs him, pulls him down on the couch when Danny paces past for the fifteenth time.

“Calm down.” Claude says. “C’mon. Sit down.” and they sit in tense silence, both of them pretending to watch the TV as they wait.

When the doorbell finally, _finally_ , rings, they leap off the couch like it’s a fire alarm. Lukas, their assigned social worker, stands on the doorstep, a small suitcase in one hand, Clara held in the other. He smiles at them as the door opens. “Hi guys. Ready for this?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Danny says with an easy grin. Clara holds her arms out to Danny, who takes her, cuddling her close. “Hey, baby.” He says, “You’re gonna stay with us now, hey?”

They sit down at the kitchen table to go through the papers. Lukas gives them a file that's appears to be novel length, a copy of all of Clara's records, her immunisations and check ups and medical history. There's a second folder. "Her routines," he smiles, "Just what she's been eating, her favourite toys, any additional information that might be of use to you. Margot compiled it and she's been Clara's main carer, so it should be handy." Lukas hands Claude the little suitcase. "And, this is just some supplies. Some clothes, diapers and her favourite toys. Everything she came to us with is in there as well." He smiles at them, "I just need some signatures and she's all yours. Any questions?"

It's a quick enough meeting, and Lukas grins at them as he leaves. "Good luck, guys." He says. "Call if there's any issues. I'll be back at ten tomorrow to check in."

Danny and Claude look at each other as the door closes, eyes wide. Clara seems completely unconcerned with what's going on, fascinated with the button on Danny's polo top. "She's ours." Danny says, awe-struck. He holds Clara a little closer, presses a kiss to her hair. "Oh my _God_."

Claude's experience with kids is approximately on the same level as his experience with lion taming, and it feels pretty much exactly as terrifying. He's not sure why he's so nervous, he's not responsible for Clara.

 _Don't get attached_ , He reminds himself, but it's hard not to smile when Clara holds her arms out for him, waving her stuffed rabbit with high pitched, excited screeching noises.

"Yeah, your rabbit's pretty awesome," Claude agrees.

Danny laughs, bright and giddy, like he can't quite believe this is happening.

*

“How’d she sleep last night?” Lukas asks the next morning as they settle in the lounge room, Clara playing on a mat on the floor. He’s got a checklist, and Claude can’t help but feel tense. Like this is a test they’re going to fail.

“Fine.” Danny says, looking relaxed and unconcerned. “A little fussy and she had a bit of trouble settling. She woke up a few times, but I figure that’s all normal while she gets used to a new place.”

“Eating?”

“No problems. We fed her foods she’s familiar with and her scheduled bottles. She ate fine.” 

“Nothing concerning in terms of behaviour?”

It’s a strange question and Claude frowns, but Danny just smiles, “Just a little teary. We haven’t had any problems we didn’t expect.”

Lukas is quiet for a moment as he scribbles some notes. “Just formalities,” he says with a smile, grinning over at Claude, “You don’t need to look so worried. This far in the process, it’s very unlikely that she’ll be taken away from you. This is all just paperwork.” He signs the form with a flourish, hands the clipboard for Danny and Claude to sign. “You guys seem like you’ve got it all under control.” 

Claude can’t help but pick Clara up when Lukas leaves, holding her close. She makes a little impatient noise, squirming a little to be let down and Claude grins, puts her back on the mat. He watches her play, chest tight.

Okay. It's fine if he's attached, right? He loves Danny's boys. This is exactly the same, yeah?

*

Claude’s never really given that much thought to having kids. He kind of assumed he’d have them eventually; marry some girl and have a few kids, just like the other guys. But, in this little imaginary scenario, he’d never really put any thought into the work involved. He’s more than a little ashamed to think that he’d assumed his hypothetical wife would deal with them for the most part. But, as Claude’s woken up by the pitiful wailing of Clara through the baby monitor as he’s napping on the couch, he’s suddenly realising what he’s gotten himself into.

Clara cries a lot in the first few days, looking around, confused. And she especially doesn’t like it if Danny’s out of sight for longer than thirty seconds. She’ll tolerate Claude, but he’s unfamiliar. It doesn’t take them long to realise that Clara’s calmer if Claude’s wearing Danny’s shirts, something that at least smells like Danny. It’s driving Claude more than a little crazy and he swears he’s not imagining the way Danny looks at him when he’s got ‘48’ emblazoned across his back. 

The words come back to haunt Claude occasionally, the _In name only. It’s not like I’d expect you to be a dad or anything. I swear, you won’t have to do anything else._ , but he sees how tired Danny is, how tired they _both_ are, and he knows he’s not going to let Danny do this alone.

*

Danny’s taking a shower when Claude decides it’s the perfect time to introduce Brayden to Clara.

“Oh my God,” is the first thing Brayden says when Claude’s face appears on the screen, Clara in his lap, “Someone actually gave you a baby. Like, _actually_.”

Claude frowns, “I told you what was happening.”

“I didn’t think you were actually fucking stupid enough to _do_ it.”

“Don’t swear in front of the baby.” Claude says, running a hand over Clara’s hair.

“What the fuck is wrong with you.” Brayden demands, ignoring Claude completely. “Did you take a puck to the head? Or are you and Danny actually fucking? What am I missing?”

“Brayden,” Claude hisses. “Shut the fuck up. He’s in the shower.”

Brayden rolls his eyes, “I’ll take that as a ‘no’ then.” He sighs, “Jesus, Claude.”

“Don’t lecture me,” Claude snaps, feeling stung. He knows it wasn’t the smartest decision in the world, “When you go three months without having to call me to pick you up from the side of the road at two am, then we’ll talk.”

“Being drunk and _adopting a kid with a guy you’re in love with_ are completely different things.”

“Shut _up_ ,” Claude says again. He can’t hear the shower running anymore. “Danny’s here.” Clara’s starting to fuss in his lap, and he picks her up properly, holds her against his shoulder and pats her back. It's been long enough that it's comfortable, almost familiar, automatically soothing her.

Brayden actually looks upset. “Sorry, man.” He says after a moment. “I, just. This isn’t going to end well, you know that, right?”

Claude looks down at the baby he’s holding, lets out a sigh. “Yeah. I know.” He shrugs, still not looking at Brayden’s face on the screen, voice quiet, “I just wanted you to see her.”

There’s a pause. “She’s cute.” Brayden says, “Does she have a matching Briere name?”

“Clara,” Claude says with a grin. “Not even planned, I swear. It’s the name she came with.” He moves so he can put Clara on the floor, hands her some bricks to wave about. She looks up at him and bursts into tears.

“You broke it.” Brayden says, “Danny’ll be mad.”

“She’s probably hungry,” Claude says. “I’ll go feed her.”

“Adopting her ‘just in name’, hey?” Brayden asks, a raised eyebrow.

Claude rolls his eyes, “Shut the fuck up, Schenner,” he says, pressing the button to disconnect. He grins as Brayden’s face disappears, picks Clara back up. “Brayden Schenn is a terrible man.” he informs Clara, who cries at him, “I know. His face makes me cry too.”

*

“I heard the end of you talking to Schenner today.” Danny says awkwardly after dinner that night when Clara’s sleeping.

Claude freezes with his coffee halfway to his mouth, lowers the mug, “What did you hear?” He asks, trying to keep his tone neutral.

Danny shrugs, “Just. I know I told you that you wouldn’t have to do any of this.” He busies himself with sponging down the mess of Clara’s high chair, anything to avoid making eye contact. “And you’ve been doing a lot. It’s- You don’t have to.” He finishes lamely. “Just so you know.”

There’s a moment of silence, Claude waiting for the _Also, you’re in love with me? What the fuck?_ but, it never comes. “Danny, we’re both really tired. Clara’s a lot of work-”

“You won’t have to do anything anymore, I swear-” Danny interrupts.

“Let me _finish_. Look, I don’t mind.” Now it’s awkward again, Danny looking over at him and Claude shifts, staring at his mug. “I’m just helping out. I do the same for the boys, of course I’ll help with Clara.”

“But, Brayden-”

“- Is an idiot,” Claude finishes, rolling his eyes. “And he thinks I’m an idiot, but it’s none of his business.”

“Oh.” Danny smiles at him, “Uh. Thanks, then. You’ve really made it a lot easier.”

Claude shrugs it off, and there’s that weird awkward pause that always follows serious personal conversations like this. “So, um. Did you hear anything else?” He can’t resist asking.

Danny looks surprised. Then suspicious. “No,” he says slowly. “Why?” He narrows his eyes, “Were you talking about me?”

Oh, thank fuck. Claude gulps the rest of his coffee to avoid answering. “No reason.” He mutters. “I’m going to bed.” 

Well that could have gone worse.

*

Settling into a weekly routine is easier than expected and they organise a baby-sitter for practices and games; a university student Margot recommends who used to volunteer at the orphanage. It doesn’t really make leaving Clara any easier and she always cries when they say goodbye, holding her arms out pitifully for Danny.

“She’ll be fine,” Stefan, their babysitter, assures them for the millionth time. “Just like all the other times, I’ll call if there’s any problems.”

Danny steels himself and nods. “Call me. If you need anything at all.” he says, shouldering his bag. He gives Clara a quick kiss. “We’ll be back in two days, baby.” 

Of all the things Claude thought would happen when Danny adopted her, he wasn't expecting leaving Clara to be quite so hard. She’s not even his kid; not really. But, he presses a kiss to Clara's head, murmurs a quiet, "Be back soon," as they head out.

*

They've got an away game against the Krefeld Penguins, start of the second period and Claude's crouched over the dot, stick poised and the puck is dropped. He's not sure what happens, just that something hits him hard from behind, pain sharp and sudden down his neck and shoulder. He drops to the ice, tries to breathe through it, head pressed to the ice until the trainer's there, talking quickly in heavily accented English. "My neck," Claude grits out, tries to move, a gentle hand on his lower back keeping him still. Fuck, he hates _all_ teams with goddamn _Penguins_ in their name.

"Can you feel your hands and feet?" the trainer asks, waits for Claude to answer, "Squeeze my hands. Can you move your neck at all?"

"Hurts." Claude says, trying not to wince as the trainer runs his hands across and down Claude's neck, checking for injury.

"I think we can move you. Can you stand?"

"Yeah."

Danny's there, grabs Claude's elbow, helping him up. "Alright?" He asks, concerned, helping Claude to the bench, the trainer on the other side.

Claude forces a smile, "Yeah. Fine."

Perhaps less fine than expected because they send him to the hospital for tests, and Claude rolls his eyes at the indignant text he gets from Danny after the game, the _//they said ur at the hospital. u said u were fine!//_

 _//snding me home to berlin now//_ Claude sends back after the Doctor's certain there's no serious damage to his spine or shoulder. _//just a stretch. mite b out for a bit. ill take care of clara.//_

There's a delay before Claude receives the next one. _//let stefan stay with u//_ Danny sends back, _//he can help out. dont overdo it//_

It makes him smile. _//ill call u later//_

*

They're sending him back to Atlanta, for precautionary tests. "You gonna be okay?" Claude asks Danny, as he packs his suitcase. "Like, really?"

"I've got three kids already, Claude." Danny says, rolling his eyes a little. Clara's perched in his arms, watching Claude with interest. "We'll be fine on our own until you get back. And I'll have Stefan."

Claude shrugs, uncomfortable, "I know, just-"

Clara holds her arms out for Claude, "Bababa!" she shrieks as Claude takes her.

"Hey there," he says, smiling. Clara reaches out, tangling her tiny hands in Claude's hair. "Ow." He picks up his toothbrush container, holds it out for her. "Play with that instead, yeah?" He can feel Danny's eyes on him, looks up feeling self-conscious. "What?"

"Nothing," Danny looks away, picks up a shirt to fold, "Just. You're good with her." He says, placing the shirt in the suitcase.

"Oh. Um. Thanks." There's a pause. "It's gonna be strange without her." He says, more to break the silence than anything else.

Danny just grins, "Enjoy the sleep while you can."

*

It feels weird to be back home. It's hasn’t been that long since they got Clara, but Claude's already kinda gotten used to waking up to Danny dumping Clara on his bed; used to rolling over in the night and onto one of Clara's blocks.

The hotel in Atlanta feels sterile and uncomfortable and it's too long until he's cleared by the doctors and allowed to go back to Philly, to his own bed and his annoying housemates.

Claude makes Brayden pick him up from the airport at six am; the double bonus of both pissing Schenner off and spending the least amount of time possible in Atlanta.

"Fuck, I'm glad to be home." Claude says, resting his head against the window. He’s not so certain if he wouldn’t prefer to be back with Danny. “I was kind of liking Germany though.”

“Mmhmm.” Brayden says. His hair is sticking up everywhere and Claude’s at least forty percent certain Brayden’s still mostly asleep. “No baby here. You can actually sleep.”

“Yeah.” It’s not convincing. “I guess.”

Brayden groans, “Oh God, it is too early in the morning for this bullshit.” He waves a hand at Claude, “You need to go out and get laid and fucking _forget_ about Danny, dude.”

“Maybe.” It’s an argument they’ve had a thousand times and Claude always gives the same answer. It’s probably true; Claude really would be better off if he just _stopped_ , but then he looks at Danny and his chest feels tight and he doesn’t _want_ to. Maybe it’ll never work out, maybe it’ll never happen, but Claude’s not quite ready to give up just yet.

“Whatever.” Brayden says grumpily. It’s a losing battle and he knows it. “You’re buying me breakfast.” 

*

Claude and Danny exchange texts, mostly pictures of Clara and bitching about the NHLPA meetings, but they haven't spoken on the phone. When Claude's phone rings at 11pm one night, just as he's starting to drift off to sleep, he starts, staring at his phone in concern for a moment before answering. "Hey Danny," Claude says, keeping his voice down. "Everything okay?"

Claude can hear Clara in the background, babbling to herself. "Yeah," Danny says. He sounds exhausted. "I didn't wake you, did I? I know it's late."

"No, I was still awake. You sure everything's okay? You sound tired." It slips out, more concerned that it should be, "Are you using Stefan when you need a break?"

Danny laughs, quiet. "We're fine, Claude. Clara misses you though."

"Oh, _Clara_ does, does she?" Claude teases, and it's perhaps a little flirtier than he means it to be, but Claude can hear the smile in Danny's voice.

"I miss not having someone to help me clean up after she spreads her dinner all over the floor." Danny teases back.

"So, you're just calling because you miss me?"

Danny sounds a little nervous, "Well, I was wondering if you could do me a favour."

"Sure," Caude says, automatically. Winces a little at his own quick answer.

"I don't know when the lockout's going to end, but it's sounding positive, right?"

Claude frowns, wondering what Danny's getting at, "Yeah. Scotty’s saying it could be any day now."

"So, we'll probably have to come home quickly. I'm not going to have time to organise stuff for Clara."

Oh. Claude sees where this is going. "Okay."

"So," Danny says, "You still have a key, right? If I send you a list of stuff, could you pick it up for me and get a room organised at home? I know it's a big ask."

Claude thinks for a moment. That doesn’t sound too difficult. "Um. Yeah. Sure. Send it through. I'll go later tomorrow. It's not like I'm able to do anything else at the moment." They talk for a while longer, nothing important, until Claude can hear Clara start to cry in the background.

"I should go," Danny says, "She's ready for a nap."

"Yeah." Claude feels a little pathetic thinking about how disappointed he feels. "Give her a kiss for me."

Yeah. He's whipped.

*

"I need your help." Claude says to Brayden the next morning.

"I hate it when you say that," Brayden whines. He drops his head to the table. "What is it this time?"

There's no way this is going to get a good reception. "Danny sent me a list of stuff he needs me to pick up," he says awkwardly. "Can you come shopping with me?"

Brayden turns his head to give Claude an exasperated look. "For Clara, I assume."

"C'mon, Schenner. Don’t be a dick about this. Please?"

"Fine." Brayden sighs, "But, Luke's coming too. I refuse to suffer alone."

They drive to the nearest Babies"R"Us. Claude figures they'll have everything he needs; it's kinda in the name, right?

Claude stands in the middle of the furniture section, bewildered. Oh God, why did he offer to do this? Brayden and Luke have disappeared to buy baby clothes and Claude's not entirely sure if he should be concerned.

"Can I help you, Sir?" Claude spins, eyes wide. Oh God, what if someone recognises him? There's a woman standing behind him, smiling patiently. "You look a bit lost," She continues, when it appears there's nothing forthcoming. "Are you looking for something in particular?"

"Um. Yeah," Claude doesn't know where to start. On the plus side, this woman - _Kate_ her nametag says - appears to have no idea who he is. "I need. Uh. Everything." 

She raises an eyebrow, "Everything?"

"I have a list." He fumbles through his pockets, pulls out the crumpled list that Danny sent though. He thrusts it at her and she takes it from him, looking a little startled as she scans it.

"Okay. You really do need everything." Kate smiles, "Maybe we should start with what you _do_ have."

Claude stares at her, bewildered. "Uh. A baby? That's really about it."

"Well," she says, "That's definitely a start. How about we start with furniture. Do you know if it's a boy or a girl?"

"A girl. She's nine months." Claude says, feeling awkward.

To Kate's credit, she doesn't even blink. "Okay. We can take care of everything you need."

It's almost easier than expected. She takes him to a section of the store where there's a variety of display nurseries set up, and Claude lets out a sigh of relief.

"Alright. Does anything catch your eye? Do you know what you need in terms of furniture?"

"Everything?" Claude says again, more of a question than anything else, "We have an empty room."

She laughs, but it's gentle, "Okay. But, do you need a dresser _and_ a wardrobe? Will you be using a proper change-table? Do you want one that converts to a bath?"

Yeah, Claude's definitely out of his depth. He spies a complete display set up in the corner that's cute; pink and white owls and forest animals. There’s a change table, crib, dresser and a bookcase and some accessories that aren’t too aggressively pink. "Can I just have that?"

"The crib?"

"The... everything." Claude asks. "Like, can we just take that whole thing?" He gestures awkwardly. "The crib and the cupboards and the lamp and sheets and blankets and... everything."

"Uh. I'm sure we can arrange that." She says. "Let me just call one of the guys from out back and we'll make sure that's all organised for you. Will you be getting it delivered?"

"Yes please." Finally a question he can answer confidently.

There's a quick conversation between Kate and a second employee who starts grabbing things off shelves, adding them to a nearby cart. "Alright," Kate says, "Let's move on. Strollers and car seats?" She leads him to a different section, "Anything in particular?"

"I don't know," Claude says, feeling more than a little bit useless. "Just. Whatever's safest, really."

Kate regards the shelves. "How big is she?"

That's a weird question. "Nine months?" Claude says cautiously.

"Do you know how much she weighs? How _big_ is she?"

"Uh," Claude holds his hands out, "Normal sized? About this big?"

She laughs, pulls a box off the shelf. "This one should be fine. Bring it back if it's not. She's under a year so she's still in a rear facing seat, but this will convert to front facing." Claude has no idea what that even means but he nods and adds the box to the cart. "Strollers?"

"Which one's the best?" Claude asks, somewhat desperately. This is horrible. "I have no idea."

She pats his shoulder sympathetically. "Let's grab another cart."

*

"Where the hell have you been?" Claude demands, when Brayden and Luke reappear a few hours later, pushing a cart that's overflowing with stuff.

"We were buying all the things." Luke says, and he's looking far too gleeful for that to mean anything good. He reaches into the bags, "We got her onesies. A tiger one, a cow one, a bumblebee, a bunny one, a bear one -- wait, _two_ bear ones. A koala one. A frog one too."

"Did you get her any _normal_ clothes?" Claude asks. He's pretty sure he doesn't want to know the answer

"They had a penguin one too," Brayden says with a frown, ignoring Claude's question. "But, just- No." He considers it for a moment, "But, maybe I'll go back for it."

Claude scowls. "No way is my kid being dressed in anything relating to the Penguins."

"Your kid, hey?" Brayden says, with a raised eyebrow.

Claude flushes. "Shut the fuck up. Let's go home. I’ve suffered enough of this torture today."

*

The pile of _stuff_ in the spare room in Danny's house is enormous.

"Do the boys know they're losing their knee-hockey room?" Brayden asks.

Claude shrugs, "Danny gave them the choice. Either Carson and Cam had to share, or they lost their hockey room." He grins, "The boys didn't put up much of a fight."

They both stare at the sheer amount of stuff, overwhelmed. "Who knew babies needed so much shit." Brayden says, "When's the furniture being delivered?"

"Tomorrow." Claude says, exhausted. "I say we quit on this until then."

"Nap?" Brayden asks, hopefully.

"Fuck, yes."

*

It takes them hours the next day, but soon enough all the furniture is in, and assembled. They have a few leftover screws that Claude eyes warily, but it all seems steady enough so he hides them in one of the drawers.

The doorbell rings and Claude frowns. "Who-?" There's the sounds of the door opening.

'Hey, guys!" Someone calls from the hall.

"That'll be Sean." Brayden says. Claude stares at him. "What? He lives here."

"You called him," Claude accuses.

Brayden just shrugs unrepentant, not even trying to deny it. "I needed more people to make fun of you. It's not as fun if it's just me and Luke."

Sean pokes his head in, surveys the collection of furniture and raises an eyebrow, "Hate to burst your bubble, but you know there's marks all over the wall from knee-hockey, right?"

"I- what?" Claude looks down at the dirty spots that decorate the wall. How the the fuck didn't he notice them before? "Oh, _God_. I am not moving the fucking furniture. It took forever to put together."

"You know you can pay people to do that, right?" Sean says, like it's obvious. "Both putting the stuff together and painting."

Claude stares at him, scowling. "Well, where the fuck were you six hours ago?"

*

His phone rings at 3am, and that never means anything good, Danny's name flashing up on the screen.

"Danny? Is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine." Danny says, he sounds a little weird. "I've fractured my wrist."

"Shit."

"Yeah."

Claude thinks quickly. "Is Stefan there? Have you got some help?"

Danny's laugh is tired, "Yeah. He's staying for a bit." A pause, "I signed to the end of the lockout with the Bears."

"I heard." Claude said, tries his best to sound supportive. "The lockout will end soon. It has to."

"I miss the boys." He sounds maudlin. He always gets like this on painkillers.

"Soon." Claude says soothingly, changes the topic to distract him. "I've finished Clara's room."

"Yeah?"

"I think you'll like it."

"It’s not all in plaid, is it?" Danny teases.

They talk rubbish for a bit, until Danny's sounding a little more normal, less vague. "Is there anything I can do?" Claude asks, feeling useless. “To help, I mean.”

“You’ve done a lot already.” Danny says and there’s a pause, “Thanks, Claude.”

“Anytime.” And it hurts a little to think about how much he really means that. “Really.”

*

The room's been painted, the furniture set up and the rest of the stuff scattered all over the house. Just in time for the call they've all been waiting months for.

"It's over!" Is the only thing Scotty says, sounding breathless. "It's _over_."

"You fucking serious?" Claude says, can feel elation building, "If you're shitting me, I will end you."

Scotty laughs, "I'm not kidding. It's gotta be ratified and shit, but _we can fucking play_."

It's overwhelming, the relief and giddiness. "Oh my God, I need to call Danny."

"Tell him to get his ass back home," Scotty says, grin audible, and hangs up.

Claude's hands are practically shaking as he scrolls through his contacts. He couldn't care less that it's 3am in Germany. This is worth waking up for. The five rings before Danny picks up are some of the longest seconds of Claude's life.

"'lo? Claude?" Danny sounds half-asleep. "You okay?"

"It's over, Danny." Claude says, excitement making his voice far too loud, "It's fucking over."

"The lockout?" Danny asks, more awake now.

Claude just laughs, "Come home, Danny. The Flyers need you back."

*

Claude's the one to pick Danny up from the airport, the new carseat carefully installed in the back; it'd taken him and Brayden about an hour to figure out how to get the stupid thing in there.

He can't resist reaching out as Danny comes out of the International Terminal, wrapping his arms around Danny and Clara. "Good to have you back," He murmurs. He takes Clara out of Danny's arms, grabs his suitcase with his free hand. "Here, let me help." Clara's regarding him suspiciously and Claude smiles at her, presses a kiss against her cheek. "Forgotten me already?" He asks, "I'm hurt." She grins at him, babbling nonsense and Claude watches her, can't help grinning back. "Yeah. I hate planes too." He looks over at Danny, "How was she?"

Danny just watches them, smiling. "We survived. She didn't enjoy it," He looks a little embarassed, "And the first and last hour, I don't think anyone else in the cabin enjoyed hearing her scream either." He reaches out with his bad hand, clad in an aircast, brushes his fingers over her hair. "But, hopefully we won't have to do that again."

"How's the wrist?"

"Not bad." Danny shrugs. "I'll have to have the trainers assess it tomorrow." He looks unhappy with the prospect, "I'll probably miss some games. I guess it'll give us some time to organise a babysitter for Clara."

It’s not hard to get them all packed into the car, and Clara’s asleep within minutes. Claude sends Danny to bed pretty much the second they get home. "I can watch Clara." he says, rolling his eyes, "You look like you're going to fall over and the boys’ll be home soon." It feels domestic and comfortable and Claude watches as Danny heads up the stairs, a warm feeling settling in his chest.

*

The boys explode through the door in the usual fashion, a flurry of coats and bags and _stuff_ , crowding around Danny excitedly, all talking at once.

Danny’s careful to give each one of them a hug, trying to listen to three conversations simultaneously.

“Where’s Clara!” Cam demands, “I want to see her!”

“She’s in the living room with Claude,” Danny says. “Make sure you’re-” The boys are off before he can finish the sentence. “Quiet.” He finishes with a sigh. Hopefully they won’t spook her too badly.

Danny follows the boys, watching from the doorway as they crowd around Claude, staring at Clara with wide eyes. Sean’s home too, sitting a little to the side out of the fuss, like he’s not quite comfortable being there.

“Hi Clara.” Cameron says seriously, reaching a hand out to touch the back of her hand. “I’m Cameron.”

Clara looks up at the boys with big eyes, her bottom lip trembling. She looks back at Danny and bursts into tears.

Cam panics, looking over at Danny, “I didn’t mean to make her cry!”

“It’s okay.” Danny says, “She’s just scared. Everything’s new to her and she doesn’t understand.” He holds his hands out to Claude, who hands Clara over. “Hey, baby. Shh.” Clara’s clings to him, burying her face into his neck. Danny rubs her back gently, kneels down so the boys can still see. “She’ll get used to you in a bit.” 

Cam hovers by his shoulder. “Can she understand us?”

“She’s a baby,” Carson says, rolling his eyes, “She doesn’t understand anything, stupid.”

“Don’t call your brother stupid.” Danny tells Carson automatically, turning to answer Cam. “She doesn’t understand much yet, but she’s learning really quickly. Mostly she just makes noise.”

It takes a while before Clara’s willing to be put down, watching the boys play warily from Danny’s lap. Sean watches them all, amused.

“So. You’ve got a kid.” Sean says to Claude quietly, leaning over the couch, looking amused.

Claude shrugs, awkwardly, watching the kids play. “Not really.” He says, “She’s Danny’s. I’m just … the second signature.”

“Yeah.” Sean says, rolling his eyes, “That’s definitely all you are. I’m going to bed.”

Claude knows he should probably go home, but he’s warm and his limbs feel pleasantly heavy. He watches Danny who’s sprawled in the armchair, feeding Clara, looking half asleep himself. The boys are blessedly quiet, building with a box of Lego and Claude _wants_ this; this weird domestic life that Danny has and he can’t quite bring himself to move.

He’ll stay here. Just for the night.

*

"Haven't seen you in a few days," Brayden says, casually. "Where have you been?"

Claude shrugs, carefully doesn’t meet his eyes, "Just giving Danny a hand. It's a bit harder, with his wrist, y'know?" He shrugs, can feel Brayden's eyes on him.

“Sean’s been staying over at ours a lot.”

It’s difficult to tell what Brayden’s getting at. “I know.” Claude says, “I’ve been sleeping in his room. Guess he doesn’t want to share a house with a screaming baby.”

“Or something.” 

Well, what does _that_ mean? Changing the subject seems like the safest option. "Did you guys want to come over to Danny's this afternoon? You and Luke? Come meet Clara."

A pause. "Okay."

Claude looks up, expecting Brayden to make fun of him, but Brayden's just watching him, an unreadable expression on his face. "Good." Claude says slowly. "Come at about four?"

Brayden just nods, climbing over the boards and back on the ice. “Yeah, okay.” He says. Claude watches him skate away. Well, that’s weird.

*

When the doorbell rings, Claude's not expecting Scotty to be crowded in the doorway with Luke and Brayden and he rolls his eyes, "I told you not to tell anyone," he hisses to Brayden as they come inside.

"I know.” Brayden says, “I ignored you.” 

"I heard you had a new little girl," Scotty says to Danny as they head inside. He holds up a shopping bag. "I bought her some stuff. Just some toys and clothes."

"Thank you," Danny says, genuinely. "Apparently all we have in the way of clothes is animal onesies and Flyers gear. Weirdly enough, all with Claude's name on it. So, it’ll come in handy"

"Way to make me look bad," Claude stage-whispers to Scotty. “Plus, she looks adorable with ‘Giroux’ on her onesies.”

The look Danny gives him is amused exasperation. "You don't need his help for that."

Brayden looks offended at the implication that the animal onesies don’t cut it. "Hey, me and Luke had to look _everywhere_ to find a giraffe onesie."

“You’re going to give her identity issues,” Danny points out, rolling his eyes. “She’s in the lounge room.” He tells Scotty, “Head on in. Just follow the noise.”

Carson is lying on the floor with Clara, waving a stuffed bear at her then hiding it behind his back. Clara apparently thinks this is the most hilarious thing she’s ever seen because she’s screeching happily, giggling hard enough that she keeps toppling over, which Carson thinks is even funnier.

“Hey guys,” Scotty says cheerfully, sitting on the floor next to Cameron and Carson. “Glad to have your dad back? I see he bought you back a pretty cool souvenir."

Carson shrugs, handing the bear to Cameron so he can have a go. "She's okay, I guess."

"You guess?"

"I already had one annoying little brother." Carson points out. "Now I have an annoying little sister too."

Danny rolls his eyes, heads to the kitchen. Claude seems to have had the same idea, slumped in a kitchen chair. "Peace and quiet." Claude groans, resting his head on his arms. "Oh God, this is better than sex."

Danny laughs, rests his hands on Claude's shoulders. "We should get a babysitter." He says, digging his thumbs into the knots in Claude's back. "I think I've forgotten what sleep is."

Claude's pretty sure he should respond, but the feeling of Danny's hands working out the tension in his muscles is turning his brain to mush, "Ngggghhhh." Is all he can manage, relaxing into the touch.

"I just wanted to say thanks." Danny says, leaning over him, close enough that Claude can feel the heat of his body down his back. "I really appreciate the help."

Claude turns his head, the 'no problem' dying on his lips They're really far too close to be appropriate, and Claude _swears_ he can see Danny's eyes dart to his mouth.

"Claude-"

They're interrupted by Carson barging into the kitchen. "Clara smells bad." He announces.

The moment's gone and Danny sighs, standing up straight. "I got it." He murmurs.

Claude lets his head fall to the table. Well, fuck.

*

Claude means to leave. He _does_. He’s not stupid and he knows that with every night he stays, it’s going to be that little bit harder to leave when he has to. And he knows that’s going to happen at some point. Maybe not today, maybe not even months or years from now. But, one day, Danny’s going to get sick of Claude being around, will want to to be alone with his kids as their own little family and it’s going to hurt like a motherfucker when Danny asks him to go.

Better to leave before he gets too attached.

But Claude knows he’s too late for that. Plus, without him, Claude’s at least eighty percent certain Danny will kill one of the boys.

There’s about a million things to do in the morning. There’s a non-optional skate in an hour and neither of them are even close to being ready, the boys need to get to school and still haven’t eaten breakfast and Clara just won’t stop _crying_. It’s absolute chaos and Claude looks over the breakfast counter, where Danny’s trying to feed Clara, shouting at the boys to get ready and Claude moves on autopilot. “You just deal with Clara, yeah? I’ll get the boys.”

It’s really not that different to herding rookies. “Cameron, you have thirty seconds to finish getting dressed, or I will take you to school in your pyjamas. I’ve done it before, don’t think I won’t. Carson and Caelan, put your shoes on. Now. You’re all getting an apple for breakfast since you’re not organised enough for cereal. You have five minutes to be ready for school.”

There’s the instant arguing, the standard shouts of “Cam took my shoe!” and “I _hate_ apples!” and briefly it looks like a scuffle is about to break out.

“Enough!” He points to them in turn, “You, clothes and bag. You, shoes. Carson, you too. If you make me say it again, I’ll take away the XBox until the end of the week.” He holds up a hand as Cameron opens his mouth, “That includes arguing back.”

A brief silence as they all sullenly file out of the lounge room. Claude rolls his eyes, heads back into the kitchen.

“Thanks,” Danny says. He looks absolutely exhausted. “I don’t know why they’re being so difficult.” Clara’s still fussing, crying pitifully in her high chair, turning her head away every time Danny tries to feed her some cereal.

Claude rummages through the fridge for a few apples. “Because they’re evil?” He heads back into the hall by the front door, “Boys! Two minutes, come on. You’ll miss the bus,” He shouts up the stairs. There’s the thundering of them crashing downstairs and Claude hands them an apple each as they head past. “School bags are by the door. Come on. Go, go, go.”

A few minutes later and there’s almost silence, except for Clara’s wailing. Danny’s given up on trying to get her to eat, walking her around the kitchen, bouncing her gently.

Claude holds his hands out for her and Danny hands her over, gratefully “She didn’t sleep?” he asks, rubbing her back gently.

Danny runs a hand through his hair, spreading cereal through it accidently. “She did. But, not much.” His face drawn and tired. “It’s just all new for her. And the teeth aren’t helping.” 

“Look,” Claude knows he shouldn’t be offering, but he also can’t just do nothing. “I’ll stay up with her tonight, yeah? You need to sleep.”

“No, it’s fine-”

“Danny.” He grabs Danny’s shoulder, shakes it gently. “Let me do this for you. Now, go shower. I’ll finish trying to feed her and get her dressed, then we’ll swap.”

Danny smiles, stepping close, hand coming around the back of Claude’s head, and for a second, Claude thinks he’s going to kiss him. Danny moves forward, rests their foreheads together and squeezes the back of Claude’s neck. “You’re a lifesaver,” He breathes, gratitude in every syllable. “I owe you.” 

“No problems.” Claude says, more of a whisper than anything else.

*

Claude’s got no idea, if Danny’s done this three times already, why the fuck he thought it was going to be easy.

It was easy enough with just Clara, but now, with the three boys _and_ the baby, Claude can’t remember the last time he slept longer than six hours, can’t remember a time when he wasn’t rushing to pick up the boys from something, feeding, changing or watching Clara, playing hockey or doing _something_ that didn’t revolve around work, the kids or Danny.

He thinks he should probably be more bothered about this than he is. But, it’s comfortable and although it’s far from easy, he’s on autopilot, knows exactly where each kid needs to be at each point in time and it’s automatic to pile them into the car, take them to school each morning, cart them between appointments and hockey. It’s a Tuesday, so Claude’s the one driving them to practice today. “Can you get some more sugar when you’re out?” Danny calls as Claude’s ushering the boys into the front all, Cam’s hockey bag slung over his shoulder.

“Yeah, sure.” Claude says, distracted, pawing through Cam’s hockey bag, “Cam, these aren’t your skates. They’re Caelan’s.”

Cameron seems unconcerned. “Then Caelan has mine.”

“No, I don’t.” Caelan snaps, “And I told you not to touch my skates.”

Claude sighs. “Can you check your bag for Cam’s skates please, Caelan. We’re going to be late. Again.”

Danny appears in the doorway, Clara perched on his hip, gumming madly at a teething ring, “I think Cam’s skates are out back.”

Caelan shoots his brother a glare, “I _told_ you I didn’t have them.”

It looks like it’s going to turn into World War Three, so Claude steps in before Cam can open his mouth, “Go get them, Cameron.” He says, “You need to be more organised. You’re not a little kid anymore, you’re responsible for your own gear.” 

“It’s not _my_ fault,” Cameron huffs, storming out to check by the back door.

Claude just rolls his eyes, exchanges exasperated looks with Danny. “Alright, boys. In the car, please.” He grabs his keys from the bowl by the door, “We just need sugar?”

“I think so. Thanks.” Danny juggles Clara a little, checks his watch, “Cam!” he calls, “You’re late! Hurry up!”

“I can’t find my skates.” Cameron says, coming back into the hall. “They’re not by the door.”

Danny sighs, “Then you don’t go to practice. Carson and Caelan don’t deserve to miss out just because you’re disorganised.”

“That’s not fair!”

“That’s perfectly fair.” Danny points out, “The other boys are ready. If you can’t get ready in time, you don’t go.” He looks up at Claude, “Leave Cam with me.” He says, “The boys are late.” 

“I’ll find them!” Cameron says, teary. “I’ll only be a few minutes, I promise.”

“You’re already ten minutes behind schedule. It’s too late to go looking for them.”

“Claude?” Cameron looks up at him and for a second, Claude’s not entirely sure what to do. It’s one thing to help out; to get the boys to school and practice, but this is _parenting_. He glances over at Danny, who gives him a small shrug.

Shit. Claude places Cam’s half empty bag by the door. “Sorry, Cam. Your dad’s right. You need to be organised, buddy.” He turns to the other two, gestures them outside. “C’mon. We’re late enough.”

They should really have been expecting it, Cameron bursting into noisy tears. “It’s not fair!” He shouts, stomping his foot. “I want to go!”

Danny tries to keep his tone even. “Yelling isn’t going to change anything. You know for next time.”

“You didn’t tell me I had to pack my own bag!” Cam sobs, “You never made me do it before!”

Danny’s voice is sharp. “ _Cameron_. That’s enough.”

His face is streaked with tears, bright red with the kind of indignant anger only an eleven year old can manage. “I _hate you_.” He shouts, turns his back and stomps upstairs.

Carson and Caelan look at each other, eyes wide. Danny looks like he’s been slapped. Clara bursts into tears.

 _Fuck_.

“Boys, go get in the car please, I’ll be there in a minute.” Claude says, handing Carson the keys. He can still hear Cameron, crying loudly, the slam of his bedroom door. He takes a step towards Danny. What the fuck is he even supposed to say? Clara’s still crying, looking between Danny and Claude, confused by the yelling. Claude’s pretty shit at the feelings thing, so he reaches out, pulls Danny into a hug, transferring Clara from Danny’s hip to his own. Danny tenses for a second before relaxing into it, bringing his arms up around Claude, burying his face in his neck. “He didn’t mean it, Danny.” He says.

“He’s never said that before.” Danny says, voice muffled against Claude’s skin, “None of them have.” He sounds shaken and upset. Fuck. Now the boys really will be late to practice.

“Look,” Claude says, using his free hand to rub Danny’s back gently. “I’ll drop the boys off, see if someone can drop them home afterwards and I’ll talk to Cam, yeah?” He pulls back to look at Danny’s face. “He’s just upset.”

“You shouldn’t be doing so much.” Danny says, and he looks so utterly miserable, Claude’s heart aches a little. “I’m sorry. I’m just tired.”

This is the start of a conversation that they really don’t have time for, not if the boys are going to get to hockey at all, and so he just squeezes Danny close for a second. “I’ll be back in twenty minutes,” he promises. “Just calm Clara down, and I’ll be back before you know it.”

“Yeah. Okay.”

Claude’s pretty sure he breaks about fifteen road rules getting the boys to practice. They’re reserved and quiet in the back seat, and Claude knows they’re running late, but he stops them before they climb out of the car. “Can I ask you guys something?” This is probably crossing lines, but this whole thing has him wondering. “How are you guys coping with Clara? I know it’s a big change and I know your Dad and I haven’t really asked how you guys are going.”

Caelan shrugs. “She’s really loud, but she’s okay.”

“Carson?”

Carson looks at the ground, “She takes up all your time.” He mutters, “You don’t have time for us anymore now you’ve got your own kid.”

“It’s-” but Carson’s already gotten out, walking away. “ _Shit_.” He gets out of the car, “Carson.”

Carson ignores him, shoulders hunched and Claude sighs. Jesus fucking Christ. He ducks inside quickly to talk to Adam, the boys new coach, “Sorry the boys are late. Cam’s not here today.” He says, “It’s a long story.” And some of the exhaustion must show on his face because Adam just looks at him sympathetically.

“Heard you’ve got a new baby.” He says, “Congratulations.”

Claude gives him a tired little smile. “Yeah. Four kids. It’s a bit of a nightmare. Look. I hate to ask, but is there anyone who could give the boys a ride home? I have to go deal with Cameron and his attitude problem before Danny actually murders him.”

Adam laughs, “I can drop them home no problems. I’ve done it before and it’s on my way.”

“You’re a life-saver,” Claude says fervently. “Seriously.”

Claude takes a moment when he gets back in the car to rest his head against the steering wheel and take a deep breath. Danny’s upset, Cam’s upset, Carson’s upset. Clara’s teething. Calean, who knows? And Claude’s feeling a whole lot like he needs a nap and some quiet and some time alone.

What the fuck is he _doing_?

He considers it briefly, the idea of just driving away, back to his apartment (Sean’s and Brayden’s apartment?) and throwing in the towel. But, he knows, even before he finishes the thought that it’s not an option. This is not what Claude was expecting when he signed that paperwork with Danny. But, this is what he got. And he’s got four upset boys he desperately loves, and a baby that’s _his_ and even though Claude feels tired and overwhelmed and a whole lot like he wants to cry himself, giving up isn’t really an option.

He takes one more deep breath and turns on the car. He’ll talk to Danny, then Cameron. Then Carson. Check in with Caelan. Buy some more teething gel for Clara. And then maybe, _maybe_ it’ll all be better in the morning. 

*

The house is quiet when he gets home. “Danny?” he calls.

“Kitchen.” Danny calls back. He’s walking circles around the breakfast bar, Clara mostly asleep on his shoulder, face red and tear streaked. “She asleep?”

“Almost. Want me to take her and put her in her crib?”

“I’ll do it,” Danny says, gives Claude a small smile, “I want to move her as little as possible. If she wakes up, I think I’ll have to cry along with her.”

Claude waits until Danny comes back, examines him carefully. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” Danny rubs his eyes, “You?”

Claude shrugs, not really expecting Danny to ask. “I could really use a nap. Is it wrong to be _looking forward_ to roadtrips?”

Danny laughs a little, leans forward so his head is resting against Claude’s shoulder. “I’m with you on that,” he says.

He can’t really help the way his arms come up, one hand circling Danny’s waist, the other carding his fingers through his hair. “You have cereal in your hair again,” Claude murmurs, wondering if Danny can hear the too-quick beat of his heart. They stand like that for a few minutes, both of them feeling a whole lot like they could fall asleep where they stand. It’s quiet and soothing and Claude groans a little. “Carson’s upset.” He says, regretting the fact he’s having to break the peace.

Danny lifts his head, blinks at him, “Carson?”

“Yeah.” Claude sighs, “I thought I’d ask the boys in the car. After Cameron’s little tantrum. Caelan seems fine with everything. But, I think Carson’s feeling a bit neglected.”

It’s not surprising and Danny rubs his hands over his face, “I haven’t spent enough time with them recently. God, I don’t even remember the last time we played hockey.” He looks over at Claude, guilt all over his face, “I’ve been a terrible father.”

“Hey,” Claude says, “Don’t be stupid. You’re a great Dad. Just. Clara’s a lot of work.” He smiles ruefully, “More than either of us expected. Neither of us has spent enough time with the boys.”

“I think I owe Sylvie more than I ever gave her credit for,” Danny says, “I never really realised how much work they were when they were small. Can you imagine having _three_ kids around Clara’s age? The boys must’ve been a nightmare.” He sounds a little maudlin, “No wonder she left.” 

Claude winces. This conversation is going nowhere good. “I’m pretty sure magic must’ve been involved.” He assures him. “Maybe the boys just want to spend more time with you. With _us_.” A pause, “I’m going to go talk to Cam.” He hesitates before he leaves, words on the tip of his tongue. “I miss you.” And that’s totally not what he meant to say. He doesn’t want to be _adding_ to Danny’s guilt, but the words are out now.

“What do you mean?” Danny looks startled.

An awkward pause as Claude tries to figure out a way out of answering. His big fucking mouth. “I just- We haven’t spent much time together. Y’know. Just us. No kids.” Wow, and doesn’t that just sound weird as fuck?

“I’m sorry.” Danny says, and he looks it, face drawn and guilty. “Tomorrow, I am hiring a regular babysitter, I swear.”

Claude just smiles at him, tries to quell the itch that wants him to go over there and hug him, press a kiss to his mouth and tell him it’s all going to be okay. “Alright.” He says instead and heads upstairs. He pauses at Cameron’s closed door, taking a deep breath before he knocks.

“Go away!” Cam shouts through the door. “I don’t want to talk to you!”

Claude sighs, “Cam, it’s me.” A pause. “Can I come in?” There’s no refusal so Claude opens the door. “I’m coming in. Is that okay?”

“I guess.” Cam’s curled up against the wall, a pillow in his arms and his face streaked with tears. Claude’s heart clenches a little; sometimes he forgets how young Cameron really is. “Hey. You doing okay? Want to talk about it?”

“No.” Cam says sullenly.

“You said something pretty mean to your Dad. He’s pretty upset.”

“I don’t care.”

Claude sits on the bed, back against the wall. Not touching Cameron, but close enough that Cam could reach out if he wanted to. “Are you upset about not being able to go to practice? Or are you upset about Clara?” There’s no answer, but Cameron curls a little tighter in on himself. Jesus, Claude is so far out of his depth right now. “I think maybe you’re a little upset about Clara.” He says, “It’s hard not being the youngest anymore.”

“Dad spends all his time with Clara now.” Cam sniffles. “He doesn’t spend _any_ time with us.”

Claude reaches out, runs his hand over Cameron’s hair. “Clara’s a lot of work. More than your me and your Dad thought she’d be. But, we’re going to try and change that, yeah? Make sure that he’s spending a lot more time with you boys.”

“On our own.” Cameron says stubbornly. “ _Without_ Clara.”

“Sometimes,” Claude allows. “But she’s still your sister. You’re going to have to share a little bit.” 

Cameron considers this. “I guess that’s okay. But only sometimes.”

“Do you think you could talk to your Dad a bit if he came up to see you? I think he’d like to know how he can make you feel better.”

“Okay.” More sullen this time.

“Hey,” Claude leans forward, peering around until he can see Cam’s face. “We love you, yeah? Both me and your dad. You tell us when you’re upset, okay? And we’ll try and fix it. You don’t have to wait until you’re about to explode to tell us something’s wrong.” He ruffles Cameron’s hair in exactly the way he knows Cameron hates, waits for the indignant squawk before standing. “I’m going to send your dad up. You think you could say sorry to him? You hurt his feelings.”

Cameron nods and Claude breathes a sigh of relief, feeling a little lighter as he heads back downstairs. Danny’s sitting at the breakfast bar, head on folded arms. For a second, Claude thinks he’s asleep, but then he speaks.

“How’s Cam?”

“Ready to talk to you.” Claude says. He slaps Danny on the shoulder. “Tag, you’re it.” He starts to slink off. “I am napping on the couch. Wake me when you’re done.” Silence and a couch. It’s heaven and Claude’s pretty sure he’s never laid on anything so comfortable before in his life.

He wakes from his doze when the other side of the couch dips, Danny pulling Claude’s feet into his lap. “Everything okay?” Claude asks, sleepily.

Danny’s eyes are a little red, and he looks exhausted. “Yeah.”

He’s half asleep; That’s Claude’s excuse as he holds out his arms, pulling Danny to lie down with him, curling them together. “Cam napping too?”

“Think so.” Danny says, not fighting Claude in the slightest, slinging an arm over his hip, pressing his face to Claude’s neck. The couch really isn’t big enough for two grown hockey players to curl up on, but neither of them really care.

*

Claude's been alone with Clara before. He can totally do this. That said, when the door closes, Danny and the boys heading out to play hockey in the park leaving Claude _actually completely alone_ , he feels a little like he's been lined up in front of a firing squad.

"Baaaaa" Clara tells him, banging on her high chair tray. She babbles a string of incomprehensible sounds, staring at Claude expectantly before knocking her lunch to the floor, letting out a piercing shriek.

"Thanks." Claude says, rolling his eyes. "How about the rest of your bottle then?" He places it on the tray, sets about cleaning up the mess.

Claude wipes her down when she’s done, carrying her to the lounge room, placing her on the floor in front of her toys. He smiles to himself, watching her crawl around on the carpet for a while before she crawls over, pulling herself up on Claude’s jeans, grinning up at him with her few little teeth, drool down her chin. “You are gross.” Claude tells her, wiping her mouth with a tissue, “Seriously. And I’m a hockey player. I thought I had the market covered.” She babbles happily and Claude grins, “I’m glad you agree with me.”

“You know she has no idea what you’re saying.” A voice behind him points out.

Claude jumps, spinning around, “Jesus Christ, Couts. Warn a guy. I didn’t know you were here.”

“I live here, you know.” Sean points out, flopping in the armchair nearby. Clara crawls over. “Hey dude.” Sean greets her, fishing around on the floor for a teddy bear. “Want this?” He waits for her to reach out with clumsy hands, “Yeah, good choice.”

“I know.” Claude says. “This is your house too.” 

Sean shrugs, “I was thinking.” He hesitates, like he’s unsure of what he’s about to say. “Maybe we should swap houses. Y’know. Make it official. I practically live in your bedroom at the apartment anyway.”

It makes sense but, “I don’t know,” Claude says awkwardly, “What if Danny doesn’t want me here?”

“Yeah.” Sean rolls his eyes, “He’s obviously hating the fact you help him with the kids and get up in the night and feed the baby. He doesn’t have a giant girly crush on you at all.”

Claude blinks, confused. “He doesn’t.”

“Yeah, whatever.” Sean’s apparently done with this discussion, “I’ve packed a bag, either way. If it’s okay with you and Danny, then I’ll move in with Schenner tomorrow.”

“Um. Okay.” What else can he really say. A pause. “I didn’t mean to, y’know, kick you out of your own house, man.”

Sean shrugs. “Living with the three boys and living with the Schenns is kind of the same.” He cocks his head to the side, thinking, “Except maybe the Schenns swear more.”

“You ever heard the boys when they think Danny can’t hear? Fuck, Caelan can give even _Simmer_ a run for his money in terms of insults.”

“They hang around hockey players all day. I don’t know why Danny thinks their language is even remotely close to being clean.”

The conversation steers itself to less dangerous territory, and Claude relaxes. Sean leaves after about half an hour, leaving Claude to enjoy the afternoon on his own with Clara..

Danny’s happier when he gets home, cheeks red from the cold, the boys hollering at each other as they clatter through the house. “All good?” He asks Claude, placing his hand on Claude's lower back.

“Yeah,” Claude grins over at him. “Clara’s still alive. None the worse for wear. Have fun with the boys?”

The smile on Danny’s face says it all. “Yeah. The boys won.”

“Ten to three!” Caelan shouts down the stairs gleefully.

Cam bounces in, “What’s for dinner?” He asks, “I’m hungry.”

“Pizza?” Claude suggests, looking over at Danny. “The boys have probably burned off enough energy today that it won’t kill them.”

Danny shrugs, picks Clara up to give her a cuddle. “Sounds good to me.”

It’s like a tension’s eased from the air, all of them sitting around the kitchen table, the boys tired and cheerful, Clara screeching happily in her high chair.

“You guys had a good day today then?” Claude asks, trying futilely to get mashed pumpkin into Clara’s mouth rather than her hair or her eyebrows.

“Yeah!” Cameron says, overly loud and enthusiastic. “Dad was terrible!”

“Can we do that every weekend?” Carson asks quietly. “Can you come out next time?”

Claude glances over, hopes Danny’s going to field this one.

“Of course we can.” Danny says easily, a reassuring smile. “We can ask Brayden to watch Clara. We’ll do it as often as we can, okay?”

“Brayden?” Claude can’t help but hiss, and Danny shrugs.

Caelan grins. “Awesome.”

 

Claude waits until after dinner and the boys are distracted, playing XBox in the lounge before broaching the subject with Danny. “Hey,” he says awkwardly, twisting a dish-towel in his hands, “Um. So, Sean wants to move out.” 

Danny turns, frowning. “He hasn’t said anything to me.” He says, a concerned look on his face. “Is it because of Clara? Or the boys?”

“No, it’s not that.” Claude’s not sure how to phrase this without sounding like he’s inviting himself. “He said he spends most of his time at mine anyway, and so we should-” he breaks off, searches for the word, “Swap?” he settles on. It’s not quite what he wanted to say, but he’s not sure how else to phrase it. “I sleep in his room more than he does.”

Danny’s silent for a moment.

“Or not.” Claude adds hastily. “I mean, it’s fine if you don’t want me moving back in. I understand.”

“Why wouldn’t I want you to move back in?” Danny asks, puzzled. “You already live here.”

“It’s a technicality.” Claude says weakly. This conversation is screwing with his head. “I don’t want to impose or anything.”

Danny looks at him like he’s an idiot. “Don’t be stupid. Of course I want you to move in.” 

“Oh.” Claude says. “Okay then.”

Apparently he’s moving in with Danny now. That’s weird.

*

Nothing really changes with Claude moving back in. The boys don’t even notice. The sun still rises and mornings still suck.

They suck even more when both of them have been up half the night with either Clara, who’s decided she hates sleeping for no apparent reason, or Carson, who came home from school with some horrible stomach bug.

Danny staggers into the kitchen, half-asleep and only half dressed. “You let me sleep in.” He accuses, his hair sticking up all over the place. “It was my turn.”

"You looked like you needed it," Claude says, "I had to get up for Carson anyway." He holds Clara out, who gurgles happily, far too awake for someone who seems to have only slept in fifteen minute increments for the past 24 hours. "But, now you're awake. Tag, you're it. Take it."

“Thanks.” Danny bends down, presses a kiss to Claude’s mouth, hoisting Clara on his hip. “Eggs or cereal for breakfast?”

“Um.” Danny doesn’t appear to have noticed that he just _kissed Claude, what the fuck_. He keeps his voice very even. “Cereal. But I need to go get milk. We used the last for pancakes last night and there’s none for Cam or Caelan.” And he most definitely does not run out of the house.

*

Claude doesn't bother knocking as he lets himself into the apartment. "Schenner!" He shouts as he opens the door. “Wake up!”

"In the lounge!” Brayden shouts back. He looks up from his bowl of cereal as Claude comes in and raises an eyebrow. “It’s seven a.m. dude. What the fuck are you doing here?”

“Danny kissed me.” Claude says, most definitely isn’t hysterical. “I can’t deal with this. I have to move back in here.”

Sean snorts from where he’s bundled up in a pile of blankets on the other couch. “No way, dude. I only just moved my shit.”

“Who cares.” Luke says. “You’re interrupting Adventure Time.”

“Well, he’s never _kissed me before_.” Claude snaps.

“You’ve _wanted_ him to” Brayden points out, only paying half-attention, the rest of him fixated on the tv. “Just kiss him back.”

Claude’s pretty sure he’s friends with idiots. “That’s a _terrible idea_.”

“You’re already practically married. Y’know. With the house and the four kids and the living together. And you’ve wanted to fuck him for, like, two years. Just do it already so we can stop hearing about it.”

“Especially when _Adventure Time is on_.” Luke says again. “So shut the fuck up and go bone him.” He pauses, “And never, ever tell us about it.” 

They don’t get it at _all_. “You guys are the worst.” Claude says, throwing his arms in the air.

“Uh-huh.” Sean agrees, none of them listening at all.

Claude’s kind of left at loose ends, standing helplessly in his old living room as Brayden, Luke and Sean ignore him completely. So he picks up his keys and he leaves.

He goes to the store, picks up the milk because what _else_ is he supposed to do, and by the time he gets home, he’s decided to just ignore the whole thing. Danny can’t have meant that, right? It’s all just sleep deprivation and baby-brain.

*

Nothing’s said when he gets home. And if Danny’s a little more tactile than normal, a little friendlier, standing a little closer, well, Claude’s not entirely sure what to make of that. It was a once off thing. It doesn’t mean anything.

He can’t sleep, so he gets up early and lets Danny sleep a little longer.

“Morning,” Danny says, voice sleep hoarse, still looking a little bewildered. He leans over to take Clara, pressing a kiss against Claude’s mouth.

Claude’s brain short circuits.

There’s about fifteen reasons why this whole thing is _not okay_ and so he presses forward on auto-pilot, kissing Danny back roughly.

Danny makes a little startled noise in the back of his throat, pulling away. “What-?”

Claude has has enough of this shit and they really don't have time for this fight. “Go get the boys up or they’ll be late for school.” It’s cold and clipped and he doesn’t look up.

“Okay.” Danny murmurs after a moment, and Claude waits until he hears Danny leave before taking a deep breath. Jesus fucking Christ.

The more Claude thinks about it, the angrier he gets, boiling away under his skin. It’s not _fair_. It seems like forever until the boys are clattering out of the door, Clara playing on the floor in the living room and Danny and Claude are left alone in the kitchen, awkwardness settling between them.

“So. What the fuck was that?” Claude says, tries to keep his voice even because he’s going to be a _grown up_ about this.

“What was what?”

“Don’t play dumb.”

Danny immediately looks nervous. “Sorry,” he says, his eyes darting to the exit, “I just- it’s nothing. I didn’t mean to.”

Claude’s temper flares. “No.” He snaps, “No, you don’t get to do that.”

“Do what?”

“You don’t get to kiss me like that when you don’t mean it. You don’t get to act like I’m- I’m _important_.”

Danny stares at him. “What?” He asks, confused. “You are.”

“Don’t bullshit me. I signed the paperwork. That doesn’t mean shit.”

There’s a pause, “Is _that_ what this is about. It’s-” Danny hesitates, confused. “It’s not about me kissing you?”

“Of course it is.” Claude snaps. “Don’t you fucking get it?” This is ridiculous and he can’t quite find the words, takes two big steps to close the distance between them, curling a hand around the back of Danny’s neck and pulling him in. If this is the only time he’s going to be able to kiss Danny properly, then he’s going to damn well make sure it’s a good one. He’s expecting Danny to push him away, to let him down easy, not for Danny to wind an arm around his waist and tug him closer, his mouth soft and wet under Claude’s own, kissing him _back_. Claude doesn’t want to stop just in case this is temporary insanity on Danny’s part, can’t resist running his hands over Danny’s shoulders, sliding a hand under the hem of his t-shirt to press his palm to the skin of Danny’s back.

“Jesus.” Danny says, pulling away. Claude keeps his hand on Danny’s back, isn’t ready for Danny to pull away. “What-?”

“I love you.” Claude blurts, and that’s not what he meant to say at all. “I’m _in_ love with you.” That’s not it either. “It’s-” He searches for the words, heart hammering, feeling a whole lot like he’s on a timer and if he can’t find the right way to say this, then he’ll lose Danny forever. “All of you - the kids and Clara, and it’s been forever and if it’s not like that for you then we have to stop this whole thing.” He gestures vaguely, still talking way too fast, “Because I can deal with not having you. And I can deal with helping out. But-” He drops his hand, feeling useless. “I can’t keep doing this the way I am if it’s not the same for you. It’s not fair.” He’s not sure how much of that Danny got because he’s just _staring_ at him and Claude doesn’t even know if what he said makes _sense_ , but Danny’s not pushing him away and Claude’s not letting go. “ _Say something_.” Claude says, a little desperately. He drops his hands, lets Danny take a step back. 

“You-” His voice cracks a little. “You love me?”

He crosses his arms across his chest. “Don’t be so stupid.” Claude snaps, feeling naked and defensive. “Even Schenner noticed.” 

Danny starts a little at Claude’s tone, steps forward back into his space. “Hey,” Danny says, looking up at him, “I thought I was the obvious one.”

It takes a few seconds for the meaning to process and Claude swallows, feeling nervous and shaky, “Don’t say it if it isn’t true.” He says, tries to keep the tremble from his voice. “It’s okay if it’s not; I can deal.”

“Now who’s fucking stupid?” Danny demands, pressing forward to kiss him again.

It’s overwhelming, a feeling in his chest that feels too large to contain, like he wants to scream and cry and dance and laugh and he has to settle for grinning, hard enough that his face hurts, pouring the excess energy into kissing Danny properly, turning and pushing so Danny’s backed up against the counter, his arms around Claude’s neck.

“We have skate.” Danny reminds him a few minutes later, breathless and grinning.

“It’s optional, and I’m Captain.” Claude points out. “I don’t fucking care.” He pretty much doesn’t care about anything right now, past kissing Danny again because he _can_ , sliding his hands over his ass, pulling him in tighter, “I can think of better things to do.”

“We still have the baby.” Danny murmurs against his mouth, “We’re going to have to wait.”

The implication of what Claude’s going to have to wait _for_ is enough to make him groan and drop his head to Danny’s shoulder. “You watch her while I go jerk off then.” He says, only half-kidding. He needs Danny naked _now_. He’s sick of waiting.

Danny makes a little strangled noise in the back of his throat, tugging Claude a little closer. “Jesus.” He gasps, kissing Claude again.

“Claude, actually,” Claude grins against Danny’s mouth because he’s fucking hilarious. “But close.”

“No, seriously.” Danny says a few minutes later, pulling away with a look of regret. “We can’t do this right now. Clara’s awake.”

“Can we call Brayden to babysit?” Claude suggests, not removing his hands from Danny’s pockets.

“He has skate too.”

“Oh God, I don’t care.” Claude whines. “I’m Captain. Can’t I make him skip?”

Danny grins, pulling away and heading into the lounge room. “You’ve been waiting a while already. Another few hours until Clara goes down for her nap won’t kill you.”

“Says you,” Claude mutters, but follows Danny into the lounge.

Clara’s eyes light up when she sees them enter. “Da.” Clara crows, pulling herself upright on the coffee table. “Da!”

Claude turns to Danny, eyes wide. “Did she just-”

“Yeah.” Danny looks just as excited as Claude, “Oh my God.”

Clara squeals, sitting down so she can crawl over to Claude, holding her arms up to be held. “Da!”

“She’s... talking about me?” Claude asks, uncertain. He glances up at Danny, not entirely sure how it’s going to be received.

Danny just smiles, soft and fond. “Of course she is.” He reaches out, runs a hand through Claude’s hair. “You were never just a signature. Even the _baby_ knew that before you.”

“Shut up,” Claude says, but he’s grinning, picking Clara up and pressing a kiss to the side of her head. “Aren’t you clever?”

She grins up at him, then holds her arms out for Danny. “Da.” She repeats, very seriously.

“Yeah,” Claude agrees. “He’s your Daddy too.”

Danny takes her, gives her a kiss. “You’re the cleverest little girl, aren’t you?”

She lets loose with a long ramble of babble and Claude just laughs, watching Danny and Clara together, heart feeling so full it could burst.

“Okay?” Danny asks, noticing Claude’s silence and stepping in close.

Claude smiles, presses a chaste kiss to Danny’s mouth, runs his hand over Clara’s hair. “Perfect.” He knows it’s not going to be that easy; balancing a new relationship and the boys and Clara and hockey. But, he’s got Danny, and he’s got his mismatched little family, and that’s enough for him.

**Author's Note:**

> Coda coming soon...
> 
> For those who are curious, [this is the nursery suite](http://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx305/pikasafire/NURSERYSET_zps590d7c56.jpg) Claude picked out. 
> 
> Also, AWESOME ART by needbackup :
> 
>  
> 
> [](http://photobucket.com/)  
> 


End file.
